New Style Rudder Blade

John Claridge has designed and developed a new and more modern rudder blade for the Lightning, as in the image above. It is longer, but thinner in section giving better handling but no performance advantage. The new blade has been ‘on test’ at open events throughout the season and many people have tried it, typically describing the handling as ‘power steering for a Lightning’.

When ordering you must specify what width Rudder Stock you have and there are two kinds:

19mm (3/4”) is standard for all new boats and the older IYE stock with the flat tiller.

25mm (1”) is the later IYE stock with the welded on round tiller and will be supplied with two 3mm packer bonded to the head.

Contact John if you need further advice. I’m sure those who have ordered and tried the new blade will comment and answer questions on the forum.

A NOTE FROM JOHN

“Apologies to anyone who missed out on the rudder deal, we are getting through the back orders having dispatched eight so far. The blades are made solid for the pivot and down-haul points which we mark. However we’ve found that the webbing strap and plate works best which we can fit for an extra £10 or supply kit for £7. There is a 30mm solid section hopefully in the pivot area of the blade. On the old blades we found that having them angled slightly forward cut out some of the weather-helm, this should not be necessary with the new blades so I would suggest drilling the pivot hole so that the blade is vertical in the stock. Angling it slightly back could well be beneficial in light winds.
Please contact for any info.”